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Sen. Cantwell Still Undecided on Bernanke

Politics, That Washington   January 26, 2010 at 3:33 pm Josh Feit

A big vote is coming up this week in the U.S. Senate (says Paul Krugman): The reconfirmation of Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, which President Obama supports. Bernanke needs about 45 Democrats to support his reconfirmation (he’s got about 15 Republicans and 29 Democrats so far) to overcome a filibuster.

It’s a big vote because it’s loaded with symbolism for the public re: the bank bailouts and the AIG fiasco. It’s also a tricky moment for Democrats. President Obama needs a win, but the public would like some revenge on Wall Street. This could be a way for Democrats—facing the prospect of a Teapublican backlash in November—to show that they care about Main Street.

Last week, I noted my surprise that Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) had yet to add her name to the list of Nays, given that Sen. Russ Feingold, who’s been Cantwell’s Democratic ally when it comes to opposing President Obama’s Wall Street policies for the past year, is on the list. (It’s especially surprising given how gung ho Sen. Cantwell was when it came to demanding answers on AIG.)

Given Sen. Cantwell’s recent claim to fame as a bank reform populist, she’s in a position to help the Democrats redefine themselves with Main Street, and the Bernanke vote could be defining.

The latest word from Sen. Cantwell’s office: “Still undecided.”

The latest tally: 51 senators have publicly declared their support for Bernanke and 19 are voting Nay. That leaves 30, including Sen. Cantwell. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) are the latest in the Yea column while Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) joined the list of Nays.


  • i viola

    Here’s some ideas why he should not be re-appointed:

    1) It’s illegal for the Fed to buy Fannie and Freddie MBS, but he’s doing it anyway, trying to prop up housing prices via low interest rates and thereby delaying the inevitable while misallocating capital.

    2) He couldn’t see the housing bubble coming!
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/26/AR2005102602255.html

    3) his academic training as a neo-Keynesian does not allow him to understand the implications of debt in the real world.
    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/01/steve-keen-the-economic-case-against-bernanke.html

    4) He was complicit in the illegal AIG bailout, for which Geithner should be criminally liable, BTW.

    5) He has not concept of how bad the repercussions could be from trying to once again re-inflate asset bubbles this go around via “quantitative easing” – either via deflationary collapse or hyper inflation. The chances the Fed can possible manage its way out of this tenuous situation successfully (with the “printed” trillions of $$ that are now sitting in reserves of member banks at the Fed is totally unprecedented) are remote.

    6) He is against transparency at the Fed, using our sovereign currency to buy garbage asset from banks at 100 cents on the dollar

    …I could go on

  • i viola

    Here’s some ideas why he should not be re-appointed:

    1) It’s illegal for the Fed to buy Fannie and Freddie MBS, but he’s doing it anyway, trying to prop up housing prices via low interest rates and thereby delaying the inevitable while misallocating capital.

    2) He couldn’t see the housing bubble coming!
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/26/AR2005102602255.html

    3) his academic training as a neo-Keynesian does not allow him to understand the implications of debt in the real world.
    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/01/steve-keen-the-economic-case-against-bernanke.html

    4) He was complicit in the illegal AIG bailout, for which Geithner should be criminally liable, BTW.

    5) He has not concept of how bad the repercussions could be from trying to once again re-inflate asset bubbles this go around via “quantitative easing” – either via deflationary collapse or hyper inflation. The chances the Fed can possible manage its way out of this tenuous situation successfully (with the “printed” trillions of $$ that are now sitting in reserves of member banks at the Fed is totally unprecedented) are remote.

    6) He is against transparency at the Fed, using our sovereign currency to buy garbage asset from banks at 100 cents on the dollar

    …I could go on

  • DTMF

    Cantwell may be undecided….why do you focus on her so much anyway?

    but Obama isn’t, and it’s Obama’s “leadership” that just got reviewed in VA NJ and MA.

    Now Beau Biden, should be a shoe in, isin’t even running!

    If OBama renames this guy it will only show Obama has met his waterloo and like Herbert says, he has no inner core of values.

    The fierceness of now, the audacitiy of hope….leading to….. a spending freeze, child care credits, and Ben Bernanke.

    Wow how fierce….how urgent….how audacious….not.

    Damn it, Obama, DTMF.

  • DTMF

    Cantwell may be undecided….why do you focus on her so much anyway?

    but Obama isn’t, and it’s Obama’s “leadership” that just got reviewed in VA NJ and MA.

    Now Beau Biden, should be a shoe in, isin’t even running!

    If OBama renames this guy it will only show Obama has met his waterloo and like Herbert says, he has no inner core of values.

    The fierceness of now, the audacitiy of hope….leading to….. a spending freeze, child care credits, and Ben Bernanke.

    Wow how fierce….how urgent….how audacious….not.

    Damn it, Obama, DTMF.

  • http://gmail.com/ david adams

    40 years ago a single wage earner in the middle class, could support a family of 4, buying a home, and keep 2 cars in front of the driveway, Greenspan and Bernanke would cunsider this as Deflation. Today it take 2 wage earners making 4 times more, to support a middle class renting a dump and barely making it. I call this inflation.
    January 2009 unemployment was 8% rates set at 0.13% Now unemploment is 10% and commodity prices are at recird levels which means prices will be higher in the market place creating more inflation hurting the middle class. SET rates at 3%and stop, so we can earn something from banks and put us in a responsible lending borrowering and saving environment.

  • http://gmail.com david adams

    40 years ago a single wage earner in the middle class, could support a family of 4, buying a home, and keep 2 cars in front of the driveway, Greenspan and Bernanke would cunsider this as Deflation. Today it take 2 wage earners making 4 times more, to support a middle class renting a dump and barely making it. I call this inflation.
    January 2009 unemployment was 8% rates set at 0.13% Now unemploment is 10% and commodity prices are at recird levels which means prices will be higher in the market place creating more inflation hurting the middle class. SET rates at 3%and stop, so we can earn something from banks and put us in a responsible lending borrowering and saving environment.